About

We Are Machine

We Are Machine has been the long-term systems partner for some of South Africa's most established organisations, in some cases for more than 15 years. The business was registered in 2017, but the practice behind it has been running since 2000.

The business was founded on a specific idea: that intelligent, well-governed systems were going to become the operating layer of every serious business, and that the value was never in the technology itself, but in understanding the business well enough to design and implement systems that actually fit it.

That idea has proved durable. The tools have changed. The core problem hasn't.

What we are

We Are Machine is a principal-led business systems architecture practice based in Pretoria, South Africa.

We work with businesses across sectors and scales, from owner-managed SMEs to large corporates and public institutions, that need their systems to be more stable, better integrated, properly documented and maintainable for the long term.

Every engagement is led directly by the principal. Where specialist technical work is required, trusted collaborators are brought in under direct oversight. There are no junior handovers, no unnecessary agency layers, and no inflated teams.

25 years. Dozens of industries. Systems that have to work.

Background

Where the experience comes from.

The principal brings over 25 years of hands-on experience spanning solution architecture, business systems analysis, data migration, platform implementation, UI/UX design, hosting infrastructure and project management.

Bowman Gilfillan

Solution architect · IP software

Solution architect and IP software specialist at one of South Africa's largest law firms, covering systems design, development and implementation across a complex multi-site legal environment.

Patrix AB

Sweden · Implementation lead

International implementation consultant and project leader on large-scale IP management software rollouts, including data migration and conversion projects for major global clients including Adams & Adams, Adidas and Merck.

EOH Mthombo Digital

Lead architect · Hosting

Lead architect, developer and hosting infrastructure manager on enterprise-scale digital projects for some of South Africa's largest brands.

We Are Machine

2017 to present · Founder & director

Founder and director. Long-term systems architecture, implementation, integration and continuity management across multiple sectors.

Industries we've worked in
Travel & Tourism Hospitality Legal & Professional Services Motor & Automotive Manufacturing & Industrial Retail & E-Commerce Government & Public Sector Healthcare FMCG Financial Services IT Services
What clients say

"It has been an absolute privilege working with him and we have found him to be outstanding in carrying out his responsibilities with the various projects. He is a true professional when it comes to work ethic, new technology, reliability and creativity. He is honest and always has his clients' interests at heart, and will always offer suggestions which benefit the business."

Products

Alongside client work, We Are Machine develops its own software products, applying the same architecture and governance principles used in client engagements to ideas built in-house.

Working principles

These are not aspirations. They describe how every engagement is actually managed.

  • Stability over sophistication.
  • Maintainability over elegance.
  • Explicit scope over open-ended commitment.
  • Rollback paths defined before work begins.
  • The smallest viable change that solves the problem, not the most impressive one.

Have a business problem you're trying to solve?

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